


Todd Brotzman’s Lying Brain

by wiseio



Category: Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (TV 2016)
Genre: Angst, Gen, Gunshot Wounds, Sibling Relationship, Todd rescues Amanda, pararibulitis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-18
Updated: 2017-01-18
Packaged: 2018-09-18 10:25:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9380207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wiseio/pseuds/wiseio
Summary: Immediately after Dirk goes missing, Amanda gets picked up by Blackwing and Todd - obviously - tries to rescue her alone. Having a brain he can't trust proves troublesome in a high pressure situation.





	

 Todd Brotzman’s brain was very good at lying. You didn't fake a debilitating illness for ten years on a fluke - it took real effort, professional level deception. Even as a child he'd had the knack, the widened eyes and hitch in the throat that sold even the wildest of fantasies. Lying to other people was nothing new. 

 

What was rather distressing was that his brain had now started to lie to him. Not in a harmless 'could've sworn I left my car keys here’ way - more along the lines of agonising and inescapable pain. Hands aflame, lungs filled with water, feet nailed to floor boards. All sensations he'd rather do without, thank you very much. His brain, however, had different ideas, which was promising to be rather inconvenient when in the middle of what Dirk would fondly refer to as a ‘situation’. 

 

This particular situation was certainly a doozy. It started with a fairly simple objective - rescue Amanda from the nasty men. The ‘nasty men’ were two armed CIA agents who were detaining Amanda in a nearby hotel for questioning about a certain fourth member of the Rowdy Three. After the kerfuffle in the diner, which Todd had managed to hide from Farah, Amanda had given up on verbal communication and text Todd - and Farah, and her three burner phones - the pertinent information. _Room 304, come quick._ Farah had practically sprinted to the car before she finished reading the message, bundling a worryingly large bag of weapons into her boot with strict instructions _not to follow her under any circumstance._ After briefly wondering where on earth she could have found three guns and a machete between the diner and the car, Todd immediately ignored her instructions and hailed a cab.

 

Unfortunately, his plan didn’t stretch much further than his arrival. Todd wasn't quite sure how to tackle armed government agents without Dirk by his side, but nothing was going to keep him from his little sister in need. Working in a hotel for so many years had lent him an intuition of his own when it came to staff entrances and inconspicuous routes, so he quickly found the corridor Amanda should have been on. In hindsight, charging headlong at the first man-mountain he spotted may not have been the smartest plan, but hey, he was following his gut. Leaving it to the universe and all that. Somehow, he managed pull, punch, kick and gouge the man onto his knees, where he knocked him out by tripping and smacking his head into the wall. 

 

Todd barely had time to celebrate his unlikely victory before a burning pain tore through his midriff, forcing him to the ground. _Not now! Not again!_ A strangled cry escaped him as he resisted the urge to press his hands into the phantom pool of blood around the imaginary wound. It felt exactly like he imagined being shot would, sharp and searing as he shifted on the ground. Cruel, cruel karma. His side throbbed, sickeningly warm and wet. Waiting for this to pass wasn't an option. How long before the other agent came? And where had Farah got to? She could easily be in trouble too. His screwed up brain could stab at him once they were all out of a far more real danger. Hissing in pain, Todd forced himself to his knees. Warm blood seeped - no, felt like it was seeping - across his shirt and into the waistband of his jeans. His vision swam with pain as he jerked upright. _Save Amanda._ That was all that mattered now. The only way to atone for what he did. Lurching against the wall he began the long journey down the corridor, tears escaping as each step sent new shards of agony through his body. _Save Amanda._

 

***

 

Amanda was sat cross legged on the cheap hotel mattress, hugging a pillow and formulating a plan of her own. Tears didn't come naturally to her in times of stress - they were generally reserved for more painful circumstances. There was nothing quite like a hearty sob, though, to put a man in a suit on edge. The agent looked decidedly uncomfortable as she wailed, shifting slightly from foot to foot. Taking great care to wipe her mascara artfully down her cheeks, Amanda peeked through her hands as she flopped down onto the bed. The agent was looking over his shoulder, as if embarrassed. Good. Rolling slightly, she managed to shift the pillow out of the agent's line of sight and wriggle the case free. Now as well armed as she could be, it was time to put her plan into action. Raising her sobs to a shriek, she bounded from the bed straight at the agent. She leapt up onto his back and pulled the pillowcase taut across his face, latched onto his waist with her legs. The man twisted and grabbed at her, unable to see. At that moment, the door flew open, revealing a short, hunched figure, stunned by the scene he'd just walked into. Wasting little time, Todd grabbed the table lamp and smashed the man over the head. The suit crumpled to the floor and Amanda scrambled quickly off his shoulders.

 

‘Todd! Oh thank _god_! Did you see how badass that was? I only had one pillow case, thank god it was you and not suit number two - Todd?’ 

Amanda's exhilarated monologue was cut short as her brother slumped against the bed. 

‘Todd? What's wrong? Speak to me!’ she dropped to her knees next to him and grasped his shoulder.

Todd grimaced and pressed his hand hard against the imaginary wound. He was starting to feel dizzy from the pain, the world swimming around him. This strange light headedness manifested as an ill-timed confession.

‘It's fine, Amanda… My hands were on fire earlier, this is nothing.’

Amanda's face clouded. ‘On fire? You mean-?’

Todd laughed weakly, a harsh noise without humour.

‘Karma, right?’ Talking caused him to cough, and then hiss as his side spasmed. Amanda was pale and tight-lipped, her eyes fixed on his side. 

‘This isn't pararibulitis, Todd. You've been shot. You've been fucking shot!’ 

_Oh_. The world seemed to bend around the word. _Shot_. Surely that should evoke a stronger reaction? Shot was bad, wasn't it? Todd’s mind trudged through these thoughts and gave him a single sentence.

‘Wasn't the plan.’

Amanda was pressing one hand hard on his side - was she? He couldn't really feel it -and fumbling for his phone with the other.

‘Wasn't the plan?’ she spluttered. ‘I'd hope not, you moron!’

‘Sorry…’ he whispered. His eyes were really heavy… why was he so tired? Why was Amanda so loud?

‘Don't you fucking dare, asshole! Stay awake!’

Awake. That was probably a good idea. But his body felt all wrong, light and melty and burning at the core. But he really should stay awake. Amanda needed saving, Amanda needed him… Did she? What could he do? Farah would help, Farah could save her. He could close his eyes, just for a little while...

‘Todd! TODD!’

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I really just wanted to do something with the idea of Todd ignoring an injury because he doesn't think it's real - this is a super shoddy attempt but if anyone wants to write something on that theme I will love them eternally! Sorry if formatting is dodgy anywhere, I uploaded this on my phone.


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